Articuno's Soul
by kaitouahiru
Summary: Misty makes a new friend- a mute girl named Ari. Ash knows something is different about this girl- especially when he sees her with Zapdos! Future AshxMisty
1. Chapter 1

Title: Articuno's Soul

Summary: Misty has made a new friend- a mute friend. Brock thinks that he has seen her before and Ash is a little oblivious but he knows that something is going on- especially when Ash catches her with Zapdos!

Pairings: Future MistyxAsh, onesided Brockxwomen... (obviously)

Disclaimer: I don't own. Please Read and Review.

* * *

"Where are we anyways?" Misty complained. "Are we lost again, Ash?"

"No, we're just taking a short cut!" he said, hopelessly looking at the map.

"Quit arguing you two!" Brock said. "Look, there's a Pokemon center up ahead. We'll stay there for the night and leave with directions tomorrow." Ash and Misty pouted a bit.

"Pikachu…" Pikachu said, its ears twitching when it felt something wet hit its head.

"Something wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked. Then the rain began to fall, lightly at first but after a few seconds, it began pouring.

"Hurry!"

"Excuse me, miss-" Ash began but Brock interrupted him.

"Oh, Nurse Joy, you're so beautiful! Hi, my name is Brock! I'd be-"

"Okay, Romeo, time to cool it," Misty sighed, grabbing his ear and pulling him away.

"Sorry about that, ma'am," Ash said.

"It's quite all right," Nurse Joy smiled. "How may I be of service to you?"

"Please, go out with-"

"Brock!" Misty said, hitting him with a paper fan.

"We were wondering if we could stay here for the night," Ash said.

"Of course you can," Nurse Joy said. "You'll be sharing your room with a girl named Ari. She's mute so she can't really communicate that well- where is she...? Hmmm..." Nurse Joy surveyed the Pokemon center with a worried look on her face.

"She must still be in the rain. Can you call her in? She's usually by the cliff," Nurse Joy said. "I worry about that girl. She seems to seclude herself, not to mention she never fails to be out when there's a rainstorm... and there's been a lot of them lately. It's unusual in the summer time to have even a little rain here."

"Sure, we'll bring her in, won't we Pikachu?" Ash said, taking the umbrella that she offered him. As he went outside, he opened it. Pikachu nuzzled his cheek and he smiled at it.

"What do you think that she's doing on the cliff?" Ash asked Pikachu.

"Pika?" Pikachu tilted its head.

"Hey, are you Ari?" the girl turned, almost panic stricken and Ash's eyes widened. A magnificent yellow bird was perched on the cliff near her. It flew away instantly and by the time Ash blinked, it was gone.

"What was that?" Ash asked but Ari shook her head, smiling nervously as she went under the umbrella. Her hair was an ice blue and her eyes were red. Something about her struck Ash speechless for a moment but a flash of lightening brought him back to his sense.

"Come on you have to tell me what that was!" Ash encouraged. She tilted her head to the side, pretending to not know what he was talking about. He studied her closely and then looked out to where he had seen the giant bird.

'There's no way I imagined that Pokemon...' Ash thought.

"Ash, get inside!" Misty shouted.

"Hurry before you get sick!" Brock shouted.

"We're coming!" Ash shouted back.

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Kinda short, I know, but please tell me what you thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Me: Thanks everyone for reading!

Special thanks to sapphire-angel-gem for reviewing!

Disclaimer: Only own Tristan. Any resemblance of Pokemon, personality, or anything else is completely coincidental.

Please R&R.

* * *

"So your name's Ari," Brock said. "How old are you?" Ari pointed to the calendar. Fourteen.

"You guys should get some sleep now," Misty said. "It's getting late."

"Alright," Ash said. "See you in the morning.

"Goodnight guys," Misty said.

"Night," Brock said, opening the door to their room and going inside while Ari and Misty went into the door next to there's.

"Is something wrong, Brock?" Ash asked. "You've been acting kind of weird."

"I've seen her before somewhere…but I don't know where…" Brock said. Ash groaned.

"Don't tell me you have another crush, Brock!" he said. "This is like, the millionth one!"

"Oh, come on man, I'm just wondering where I've seen her before," Brock said. "That hair color…and those eyes!"

"You know, I saw her with this giant bird Pokemon," Ash said.

"Really? What was it? A Pidgeot?"

"No, it was yellow," Ash said. "And bigger then a Pidgeot, I think."

"Really? Do you know any yellow bird Pokemon?" Brock asked.

"Not that I can think of," Ash said. "What about you, Pikachu?"

"Pika…" the Pokemon tilted its ear.

"Guess not," Ash yawned. "Well, goodnight Brock."

"Goodnight Ash," Brock said.

"Where's Misty and Ari?" Ash asked, looking around the next morning.

"I don't know- hi Nurse Joy!"

"Oh brother," Ash groaned.

"Ash?" Ash and Pikachu turned slightly.

"Hey, where were you two?" Ash asked. "And what's with the white board, Ari?"

"Well since we can't understand sign language and Ari wanted to come with us, we bought a white board so she can write things down," Misty explained. "Right?" Ari nodded, smiling.

"Hey, Ari-" Ash began.

"Hey, you talkin' to my girl?"

"Huh?" Ash, Misty, and Ari turned to look in the direction of the voice.

"Your…" Ash asked, looking at Ari. "girl?" Ari shook her head and rolled her eyes, glaring at the boy.

"I don't think she seems to like being called your girl," Misty said. Ari instantly took a step back as the unknown boy took one forward.

"Who are you anyways?" Ash asked, seeing the Pokeballs connected to the older boy's belt. He smirked.

"Name's Tristan," he said. "And Ari is my girl," he put an arm around her but she shook it off and he let it go. Tristan was taller then Ari, Misty, and Ash. He was almost as tall as Brock. He had short brown hair and black eyes. He was wearing a leather jacket, a black shirt, and jeans.

"Ari, you said that we were going to go out for a tour of the town," Misty said.

"Really?" Tristan said. "Mind if I tag along?"

"Well actually-" Misty said but Ari shrugged and went to go sit down at a table, Tristan instantly took the seat next to her. Misty and Ash looked at each other with a shrug and sat down next to each other on the opposite side of them.

"So are you two going out?" Ash asked. Ari shook her head no and Tristan shook his head yes. She smacked him over the head and crossed her arms. A Chansey brought them their breakfasts and Brock.

"So who's your friend?" Brock asked to break the awkward silence.

"I'm Tristan. Ari's- friend," he winced as she fixed him with another glared.

"Is there something going on between them?" Brock whispered to Ash and Misty.

"Well Tristan likes her," Misty said.

"But Ari doesn't like him," Ash finished.

"So what's on the agenda today?" Brock asked.

_Tour of Legend's Creek Town_ Ari wrote neatly on the white board.

"Why is it called Legend's Creek?" Brock asked.

"Well- can I get this one?" Tristan asked. Ari nodded, tasting her soup.

"Well, the legendary Pokemon of Johto and Kanto were said to have been first seen here, with the exception of a few," Tristan said.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno were said to have first been sighted here together," Tristan said. "They had been seen separately before but this was the first time anyone had seen them together. There was a mysterious song being played when they arrived. It had been playing for a short while. When they all gathered a night later, Lugia appeared."

"Lugia?" Ash asked.

"I'll show you in a minute," Tristan said, a little annoyed at being interrupted. "Anyways, that mysterious song was his, calming the legendary Pokemon."

"Which legendary Pokemon were the exceptions?" Misty asked.

"Let's see…" Tristan thought for a moment but Ari had already wrote on her white board. _Ho-Oh and Mew. _

"So what about Lugia?" Ash asked impatiently.

"Isn't it a legend?" Brock asked. "Is there even any proof?"

"Proof?" Tristan scoffed. "Of course there's proof, look over there." He pointed to a picture as he got up to show them.

In faded color, Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno were flying in a circular motion, with Lugia in the middle.

"Motlres, the bird of fire," he said, "Articuno the bird of ice. Zapdos, the bird of-"

"That's it!" Ash said, pointing at the slightly faded Zapdos. "That's the Pokemon I saw you with!"

* * *

Me: And I'll leave you with that. Thanks for reading.

Please R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

Me: This is chpater three. Please tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: Only own Tristan.

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"_That's it!" Ash said, pointing at the slightly faded Zapdos. "That's the Pokemon I saw you with!"_

"What?" Tristan asked.

"Really?" Brock frowned.

"Are you sure you weren't just dreaming again, Ash?" Misty asked, slightly annoyed.

"I wasn't dreaming! I really saw her with it! It was yellow and-"

"Ash, look out there," Tristan said, pointing towards the cliff.

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"That's a cardboard copy of Zapdos," Tristan said. "They place it there during this time of year because there's a festival held here in honor of the sighting of the legendary Pokemon. Zapdos is there, in the direction of which Zapdos came from. Moltres can be seen closer to the entrance to the town- the South- and Articuno can be seen near the North."

"You probably just saw her with the cardboard Zapdos," Brock said.

"Sorry about him, Ari. He dreams too much," Misty said.

"But I really saw it!" Ash protested as Misty walked away with Ari and Tristan.

"Come on Ash. Just give it a rest," Brock advised.

"It's beautiful!" Misty exclaimed, staring at the creek that eventually led to the ocean.

_A fitting place for the legendary Pokemon _Ari wrote and paused before writing again _Anyone, really._

"Well, I'm guessing you guys want to hit the beach," Tristan said. "Afterwards, we can go to the festival when sunset comes."

"That sounds great," Brock said. "Girls! Beautiful, beautiful girls!"

"Is he… always like that?" Tristan asked as they stared after him.

"Yep," Ash and Misty nodded.

"Brock, wait for us!" the two shouted. Ash ran off. Ari gave Tristan a pointed look and he followed Ash, laughing and calling for Ash to wait up for _him_ or he was going to get lost. Misty stayed back with Ari.

"So are you a Pokemon trainer?" Misty asked. Ari shook her head.

_Poor health prevents me from traveling too much _she wrote. Misty nodded.

"But you live next to the ocean. There are water Pokemon who'd love to be with you," Ari shook her head with a smile.

_I've got everything I need_ she wrote. _But what about you and Ash?_

"Me and…Ash?" Misty blushed. "There is nothing going on between us!" Ari's shoulders shook with silent laughter.

_Okay, keep telling yourself that._

"I am not telling myself that!" Misty said.

_That didn't make any sense._

"No, I guess it didn't," Misty said. "But… it's Ash."

_And I'm Ari but Tristan is crazy about me_. There was a sad look in Ari's eyes as she wrote this and showed it to Misty.

"Don't you like Tristan?" Misty asked.

_That's…that's not important._ Ari said. _Even if I wanted to, I couldn't be with him._

"How come? You can do anything you set your mind too," Misty encouraged.

_It just wouldn't work. I'm pretty sure that I'm leaving once this festival ends, anyways._

"But Ari..." Misty said.

_Please, drop it Misty. I've been here too long already._

"Well then how about travelling with us?" Misty asked. Ari shook her head.

_No, I have... friends I'm meeting once I leave._

"At least you have travelling companions," Misty said, trying to reassure herself.

_Don't worry about it, Misty. We're at the beach! Go have fun and play in the water. I have things to do anyways._

"Aren't you coming?" Misty asked. Ari shook her head and smiled.

_I'll try and join you later. Go have fun with your Pokemon._ Misty nodded and took off to the beach.

'Okay...' Ari thought to herself. 'Now to make sure that Ash fullfills his destiny.'

* * *

Me: Please tell me what you think. Review, please!


	4. Chapter 4

I'm gonna use the Pokemon from the Jhoto league... I suppose this is after Togepi evolves because Misty doesn't have it any more.

_

* * *

_

_'Okay...' Ari thought to herself. 'Now to make sure that Ash fullfills his destiny.'_

She ran over the rocky landforms that led to the highest point of the town. She could see everything from up here- including Ash and his friends. 'I need to find a way to separate Tristan from Ash- that shouldn't be to hard,' her red eyes hardened for a moment and a feeling of remorse passed over her. 'I'm sorry for having to deceive you like this…'

She opened her mouth and a loud bird's cry escaped from her mouth.

Ari waited. One… two… three… four… fi-

Her cry was answered twice by two different birds. She slid down the cliff and into the hidden caves that no one dared go in for fear that they would flood. But there was no fear of that today- the tide was low and Lugia was calm. She slipped and fell, almost hitting the floor but a gentle wing caught her. Moltres surveyed her and put her back on her feet.

"_You called us"'_ Zapdos said.

"_Was this important?" _Moltres asked. Ari gave him a disapproving look.

"_I can't just miss you? I'm kidding. Of course it's important. We need to make sure that Ash fulfills his destiny and Tristan-"_

"_The human boy?" Zapdos scoffed. "What are you thinking, 'leading him on,' as the humans call it?"_

"_What I do in my own time is my own business and I'm not leading him on," Ari snapped. "Ash needs to get to the temple and calm Lugia and reunite him with Ho-Oh. You know that as well as I do."_

"_So what do you need us for?" Zapdos said._

"_Ash has seen you- which is good," Ari said. "Because now he'll follow you."_

"_You could just revert back to yourself," Moltres reminded her._

"_I can't risk losing the strength it takes to keep this form- you know that," Ari said. "Please, Zapdos. I'll lure Trist- the human boy away from Ash. It won't be hard to lure him to the temple."_

"_Why me?" Zapdos said. "Why not Moltres? Or Lugia? He has a special connection with Lugia-"_

"_But Pikachu will be attracted to your electricity- Zapdos, please," Ari begged. _

"_You don't need to beg," Zapdos said, looking ashamed. "I never said I __**wouldn't**__ do it."_

"_You never said you would either," Moltres reminded Zapdos._

"_Enough," Ari said firmly. "I'll go distract Tristan-" She turned to leave but she stopped when she heard Moltres's voice._

"_Ari," Moltres said. "Don't get attached."_

"_I'm not insensitive, Moltres," she said. "But I'm not getting attached." She turned and began to run._

"_She's getting attached. I knew one of us should have gone," Zapdos groaned._

"_I'm not trying to be insensitive," Moltres protested._

"_Give it up, Moltres," Zapdos said. "And I have work to do, apparently." _

_

* * *

_

"Hey, isn't that Ari?" Ash asked as Heracross began chasing Bulbasaur. "Hey, leave Bulbasaur alone, Heracross!"

"I'll go check on her... it's getting dark, Ash. You should probably recall your Pokemon," Tristan said. Tristan's Arcanine looked up when Cyndiquil was recalled into its Pokeball. A whine of protest escaped the giant Pokemon.

"You'll see Cyndiquil again soon," Tristan coaxed. "Are you coming?" Arcanine protested again, nudging Ash and the Pokeball fell off and Cyndiquil came out.

"Sorry Ash," Tristan apologized. "We haven't had that much contact with trainers and Pokemon lately since we've been helping out the festival. Would you mind if I took Cyndiquil back to the Pokemon center? I'll head back with Brock."

"Do you want to, Cyndiquil?" Ash asked. The fire Pokemon looked torn between Ash and Arcanine. "I'll be there in a short while, we're just going to play-"

"On second thought, why don't you bring Arcanine back," Tristan winced as Arcanine jumped at the prospect of staying out longer. "Jumpluff, did you want to stay too?" Jumpluff sleepily floated into Tristan's arms. "Take that as a no... Scizor?" Scizor stood stubbornly by Tristan.

"Someone's stubborn," Ash said.

"I've had Scizor since he was a Scyther. Don't take it personally, Ash," Tristan said.

"So we'll catch up with you at the Pokemon center, okay?" Ash asked. "Do you want to go to, Bulbasuar?" Bulbasuar yawned and inclined its head towards Tristan. "Alright, go ahead." Tristan almost fell backwards when Bulbasuar jumped into his arms, adding extra weight.

* * *

"What's that?" Ash asked, seeing the giant yellow bird in the sky.

"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu said, running after it.

"Pikachu!" Ash said. "Wait!"

* * *

And that is chapter four. Please review.


	5. Chapter 5

"Ari, what are you doing out here?" Tristan asked. "Aren't you cold?" Ari shook her head. She looked towards the sky, silently thanking Zapdos. Tristan looked doubtfully at her. They were near the beach and since it was getting late, the temperature was dropping slowly. She was wearing a tank top and shorts.

"Come on, we'd better go back now," Tristan said, covering Ari with his jacket and guiding her to the Pokemon center. Jumpluff was secured in his left hand and his right hand was helping guide Ari.

_I'm mute not blind, Tristan_ she signed to him.

"I know Ari but I worry, you know," Tristan said.

* * *

"Pikachu, wait up!" Ash shouted as he and the other Pokemon chased the electric mouse.

"Arrr!" Arcanine shouted, nudging Ash while still running.

"You sure? Alright then, everyone return!" Ash said, returning all of the Pokemon to their pokeballs except for Cyndiquil who was already on Arcanine's back.

"Pikachu!" Ash called again.

Pikachu stopped in front of a shrine, allowing Ash, Arcanine and Cyndiquil to finally catch up.

Zapdos stared down at him from on top of the shrine and Ash felt a chill run down his spine.

"Zapdos…" he whispered, getting off Arcanine to stand next to Pikachu. A soft rain began to pelt them as they stared each other down. Arcanine and Cyndiquil retreated under shelter. Zapdos opened its beak and a loud shriek escaped from it.

"Zapdos!" Ash cried as Zapdos fluttered down to the ground. He and Pikachu instantly backed up.

Zapdos seemingly ignored them and walked into the shrine. He turned his head to check if they were coming and when they didn't seem to follow, the giant bird cocked its head, motioning for them to follow. Ash and Pikachu looked at each other before they followed the giant bird into the shrine, Arcanine and Cyndiquil following after them.

Zapdos gave a powerful beat of its wings before landing on a shrine with three spheres, all broken, dulled, and cracked.

"_You have saved us once before, Ash Ketchum. And although you do not remember, you can save us again! Lugia has lost control and the seas are slowly becoming rougher. You are the only one who can calm him and reunite him with Ho-Oh!" Zapdos shrieked. "You are the chosen one, Ash! And you must complete your destiny!"_

"But what do I need to do-?!" Ash was cut off as huge amounts of water began to flood the temple. In mere seconds, he was forced to swim and grab Pikachu. He barely managed to grab onto the two orbs that fell loose. Zapdos picked him up by his vest and flew out of the temple.

"Zapdos, where are we going?!" Ash shouted.

"Pika! Pikachu pika!" Pikachu cried.

"_Do you see, Ash Ketchum?!" Zapdos demanded, landed on a mountain top with him. "Do you see how the sea rises unnaturally? Lugia needs to be calmed down and he cannot while those spheres you hold in your hand are broken!"_

"But why are they broken, Zapdos? I need to know!" Ash shouted. Zapdos stared at him and then looked towards the sky.

_"He is back, Ash. He is back again and only you can stop him," Zapdos said._

"Who is back?!" Ash said.

_"The one who wishes to collect us!" Zapdos shrieked. "Travel to the volcano, the thunder lands, and the snowy mountains, Ash! You will find Slowking there and he will tell you how to fix the orbs! If you don't... Lugia, in his state of madness, will submerge this planet in water!"_

"Help!" they heard a feminine cry.

"Misty!" Ash shouted.

_"Save her, Ash Ketchum," Zapdos encouraged. "Her water Pokemon will not be of much use to her in the thunder lands."_

"How am I-" when Ash turned to look to see the legendary Pokemon, it was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

"Arcanine, will you take us?" Ash asked. "We have to save Misty!" Arcanine studied him for a moment before kneeling down so that Ash and Pikachu could get on its back. It took off the moment they were situated.

"Tristan, Ari," Brock said. "Have you seen Ash and Misty?"

"They're not back yet?" Tristan asked. "I had Ash go with Arcanine… and Bulbasuar came back with me."

_I hope they're not in that storm _Ari wrote, glancing at it worriedly. 'Lugia isn't going to help the sea calm down any time soon.'

"Well we can't do anything now," Tristan said. "We're just going to have to wait out the storm and then go look for them."

"Aren't you worried?" Brock asked.

"Arcanine's with Ash and he's been camping enough to know how to keep out of the rain to much," Tristan said. "I'm sure Arcanine will find them a safe place to wait out the storm." Ari stared out the window and frowned, walking up to the window and placing her hand on it.

'I want to go look for them… to watch out for them…' Ari thought.

"Where do you think you're going, missy?" Tristan asked. Ari turned and smiled with her hand on the door knob. She pointed to the door and Tristan and Brock both fixed her with an unrelenting look. She pouted and crossed her hands.

'What have I been reduced to?' she thought to herself with a roll of the eyes.

* * *

"Misty!" Ash shouted.

"Ash!" Misty called. "Ash, is that you?!"

"Where are you Misty?!" Ash shouted.

"I'm over- augh!" Misty screamed and Ash saw a bolt of lightening come down.

"Let's go!" he urged Arcanine. Arcanine responded immediately and took off in what was hopefully Misty's direction. Arcanine brought him to a high peak and then Ash saw her.

"She's surrounded by Voltorbs!" Ash said. Arcanine jumped down lower, helping Ash reach his destination.

"Bulba-" Ash stopped when he couldn't feel Bulbasuar's pokeball. '_"So we'll catch up with you at the Pokemon center, okay?" Ash asked. "Do you want to go to, Bulbasuar?" Bulbasuar yawned and inclined its head towards Tristan. "Alright, go ahead."'_ 'That's right, Bulbasuar's with Tristan…' Arcanine landed in front of Misty and Ash got off, running to her side.

"Are you okay?" Ash asked. He saw her charred and bruised skin.

"I'll be fine! Just get me out of here!" she wailed.

"Bayleef!" Ash shouted, throwing the two Pokeballs. "Misty, get down! Bayleef, razor leaf attack!" Ash shielded her with his body as the Voltorb sizzled angrily with electricity. Ash cried out as the Voltorb shocked him and he let go of Misty.

"Ash, are you okay?!" Misty asked worriedly.

"I'm… fine," Ash said, sitting up with a forced smile. "I'm used to it remember?" Misty felt herself blush and then she grabbed Ash's hand and pulled him out of the way just in time as a Voltorb used sonic boom. They fell backwards, rolling down the hill. Ash pulled Misty into his chest and kept her mostly protected from the brunt of the fall. One of Misty's pokeballs got loose.

"Psyduck, what are you doing out?!" Misty cried as it fell down with them.

"Psy-aye?" Psyduck said. It's hands began to glow blue and all of a sudden, Misty and Ash weren't falling anymore- they were floating!

"Psyduck!" Misty cried out joyfully as she grabbed onto the Pokemon. "You did it! You saved us!" Ash let out a sigh of relief as they were just about to gently land on the floor… when the blue around Psyduck's hands faded.

"Auugghh!" they screamed as they hit the ground.

"Ow…" Ash said.

"Yeah… thanks a lot Psyduck," Misty sighed. "Return to your pokeball."

"Well that could have been worse," Ash winced, pushing himself onto his elbows. He blushed when he realized the compromising position they were in.

"What is it?" she asked, "why are you looking at me like that?" She then realized that he was on top of her, _really_ on top of her. She blushed too and pushed herself up a little. That little push to get him off of her pressed their lips together instead.

* * *

Me: And that was chapter six. Please review.


	7. Chapter 7

Me: Here's chapter 7.

Disclaimer: I think you know who I own and who I don't.

* * *

'Did… I just kiss him?' Misty thought.

'Did she just kiss me? I kissed Misty?!' Ash thought.

"Uhhh," they said. Both were blushing and both were staring right at each other. They heard Arcanine howl.

"We're down here, Arcanine!" Ash shouted.

"Ash, what is that?" she asked, pointing to a yellow orb that was beginning to glitter.

"That's an orb that I needed to bring here to fix," Ash said. "I don't know how I'm supposed to do that though."

"Why do you need to fix it?" Misty asked.

"Zapdos said that it was my destiny," Ash said.

"Zapdos-?" They heard a bird's cry and they looked up as Arcanine bounded next to them with Cyndiquil on its back.

"Misty, will you come with me?" Ash asked. Misty stared into his eyes and nodded, accepting his hand up. She held onto Ash's waist when they were seated on Arcanine.

"Let's go!" Ash said. Arcanine roared and took off, running after Zapdos.

"What exactly are we trying to do, Ash?!" Misty shouted.

"We're trying to save Lugia!"

"You believe this stuff?!"

"I have to, Misty! Just trust me!" he shouted.

"I trust you Ash…" Misty whispered. Zapdos slowed down next to them and Misty stared at it.

"_Follow me, Ash Ketchum!" Zapdos shrieked. "The Pokemon are unbalanced- they are worried! I will protect you from attacks!"_

"Okay!" Ash nodded. "Ready, Pikachu, Misty?"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.

"Let's go!" Misty said. Acranine growled and pushed after Zapdos.

"Electabuzz!" Misty said.

"Oh shoot! Hang on!" Ash shouted. Zapdos flew in front of them, letting out a warning shriek. The Electabuzz ignored it and used thunderbolt. Zapdos raised its wings and Misty and Ash let out cries of warning but the attack never touched Zapdos. Instead, it hit an invisible barrier.

"What was that?" Ash asked.

"Zapdos used protect," Misty said. Zapdos glared at the Electabuzz again and when they didn't back off, he let out an electric attack of his own.

"Thunder wave," Ash said when the Electabuzz couldn't move.

"Ash, hurry!" Misty urged.

"Arcanine, let's go!" Ash said. Arcanine took off after Zapdos again. They came out onto a cliff when Zapdos stopped again.

"_That shrine up in the mountain is where you must go, Ash," Zapdos said. "Take the orb there and it will repair itself. Take them, Arcanine."_

Arcanine roared and began the leap up the mountain.

"Are you sure this is safe, Ash?!"

"Just don't look down!" Ash said. "With any luck, those boulders won't hit us!"

"What?!" Misty cried, hanging onto Ash tighter as Arcanine made a jump over the boulder, almost losing its balance as some of the rock it landed on released from under it.

"That was to close," Misty whimpered.

"You're telling me?" Ash asked. "Maybe we'd better climb from-" he was cut off as Arcanine got out of the way of another boulder. "Or not…"

"Ash, Misty, hang on tight!"

"Tristan, is that you?!" Ash shouted.

"Ari and I are here too!" Brock shouted.

"Hang on!" Tristan repeated. "Arcanine, Extreme Speed!" Both teenagers let out a cry as Arcanine zipped up the mountain to his trainer faster then they'd ever seen before. They closed their eyes until Brock lifted them off of Arcanine.

"Are you guys alright?" Brock asked. Ari looked worriedly at them. Both blushed and looked away from each other, each stammering that they were okay.

"How did you guys know we were here?" Ash asked. Ari raised a hand shyly.

"Well thanks, you guys," Misty said. "Thanks Arcanine, you saved us." Ari pointed to the orb.

"Oh, right!" Ash said. "But where do I go with it?" Ari tugged impatiently on his hand and finally gave up, taking the orb and running up the steps of the mountain.

"Ari, Ari, wait! What are you doing?!" Ash cried, running after her.

"Ash!" Misty cried, running after them. "Ari!"

"Guys, come back!" Brock shouted, running after Misty.

"Ari, this is crazy!" Tristan groaned, running after everybody. Ari stopped in the middle of the shrine next to Zapdos. She held the orb out to Ash, who took it hesitantly. She pointed to the shrine and he went there.

'_Do you think he'll know how?' Zapdos asked._

'_He's done it before. Have faith, Zapdos,' Ari responded._

The orb began to glow a brilliant yellow, surrounding Ash and Pikachu when the others got up to the top. When Ash pulled the orb out again, there were no more cracks. A bright yellow light was shining in the middle of the orb.

"_You did it, Ash Kechum," Zapdos praised. "Now you must go to the volcano and then the snowy mountains."_

"But how will we get there?" Ash asked, looking at the distance it took to get there.

"It's separated by the sea," Misty noted. "We do have water Pokemon."

"I've been sailing all my life," Tristan said. "I can work a boat."

_But do you know where to get one? Ari signed._

"What'd she say?" Misty asked.

"She asked if I knew where to get one," Tristan said. "I can pull a favor from some of the guys."

"Then what're we waiting for?" Ash asked. "Let's go!" Ari grabbed onto his sleeve before he could take off and put a blue orb into his hands.

"Where did you get this?" Ash asked.

"She took us to some shrine and she dove right in… then we were afraid she'd catch hypothermia so we took her back to the Pokemon center and got her a new change of clothes," Tristan said, obviously annoyed.

"Now that we have everything, can we go?" Ash asked.

"Let's get the boat first," Tristan advised. "Then we can go."

* * *

Please read and review.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The disclaimer's obvious.

Here's chapter eight.

* * *

"Hey Misty…" Ash said cheeks slightly red.

"Uh, y-yeah, Ash?" Misty asked. They stared at each other for awhile.

"Um, about that kiss…" Ash said, his face growing redder. Misty turned red too and averted her gaze.

"Come on Ash," Brock whispered furiously. "We talked about this…"

"Uh, Brock… isn't what we're doing an invasion of privacy?" Tristan asked. Brock and Ari turned to glare at him and put a finger to their mouths, indicating for him to be quiet.

"Pika…" Pikachu said.

"So what do we do from here?" Misty asked.

"Well we could…" Ash trailed off.

"Could what?" Misty asked, looking up at Ash who was now averting his gaze from her.

"N-nothing," Ash stuttered.

"Could what Ash?" Misty demanded, standing up. The boat hit a wave then and sent Misty into Ash's chest. Ash lost his balance and fell backwards, hitting the wall to where the beds were inside. Ari lost her footing and fell backwards, Tristan and Brock sliding to catch her before she fell through the gaps of the ship's railing.

"You okay Ari?" Tristan asked. Ari glared up at him from her upside down position, not needing to use sign language to say 'Do I look okay to you?'

"Ow..." Ash said. "You okay, Misty?"

"I think so..." she said. "What was that all about? Shouldn't Tristan be paying attention to the waves?" She was about to get up to look but Ash pulled her back down and kissed her.

"When this is all over..." Ash said slowly. "You want to go out for ice cream or something?"

"O-okay," Misty said.

"Ash, Misty, a little help over here!" Brock shouted.

"Please!" Tristan said. There was banging and the two got up.

"Why is Ari hanging over the edge?!" Misty demanded. "Ari, grab my hand," she held onto the railing and leaned forward. Ari tried to reach forward but thier hands weren't long enough.

"Bulbasaur, Chikorita!" Ash said, bringing out his Pokemon. "Grab Ari's arms using vine whip and help get her up!" Bulbasaur and Chikorita lowered thier vines down, wrapping around her arms and torso, bringing her up. She looked gratefully at the Pokemon and signed her thanks to everyone. She looked at Ash and Misty carefully before writing something on the white board.

_You're both red._

"No we're not!" they denied, blushing even darker.

"Hey, we're approaching the volcano!" Tristan announced. "You are coming with me where you can't attempt to fall off again." Ari pouted as Tristan pulled her arm. He used his other arm to bring out Scizor. "Scizor, watch her while I get us on land." Scizor nodded.

* * *

"So where's the orb this time?" Brock asked.

"Probably at the top of the volcano," Ash said.

"Ari, are you okay?" Misty asked. "You're not looking to good..." Ari didn't answer, instead sitting on a rock with her head in between her legs while trying to wipe away the sweat. _'Moltres...'_

"Maybe you should stay on the boat..." Tristan advised.

"But what if something happens to her?" Brock asked. "We won't have any way of knowing."

"I'll stay with her," Tristan said. "This isn't exactly the place I want to bring Scizor and Jumpluff into..." Scizor made a grunt of protest, very intent on going where his trainer went.

"I'm staying with you, Scizor," Tristan coaxed. He saw Ari fall forward and Scizor swooped her up just before she hit the ground.

"Yeah, you'd better stay with Ari," Brock said. "She won't make it up the mountain... take her back to the boat and we can make a quick get away if we need to."

"Sounds good," Tristan said, glancing at his Pokemon. "Do you want me to hold her, Scizor?" Scizor stood firmly, gathering Ari closer.

"See you in a bit," Ash said.

"Take care of her, Tristan," Brock said before following his friends up the mountain.


	9. Chapter 9

Dislcaimer: Isn't it obvious by now?

Enjoy chapter nine.

* * *

"It's… so hot!" Misty groaned, sinking on top of a rock. She fanned herself with her t-shirt, attempting to get some form of sweat. She, Ash, and Brock were almost, if not completely, soaked all the way through with sweat.

"I can't wait to get to the snowy mountains!" Ash said.

"Well, we're almost there," Brock said, trying to be optimistic. "Maybe we could have Corosola cool us down?"

"That's a good idea," Ash agreed. Misty reached into her red bag and sent out her Corosola. They sighed in relief when the cool spray touched them.

* * *

"Ari, are you sure you're okay to be walking around?" Tristan asked worriedly. "Maybe you should sit down- I can have Jumpluff put you to-" A sharp glare from Ari's red eyes stopped him before he finished. "At least sit down..." Ari huffed and say down next to him.

She looked worriedly at the volcano, taking a deep breath as she wiped the sweat off her face. She felt her body temperature raise and she felt sick.

"Ari?" Tristan called as she slid under the railing and into the water. "Ari!" He sighed in relief as she rose above the water, soaking wet. "You're going to catch a cold..."

_In this heat?_ she signed with a coy smile. She held her hand out and he reached for her, intending to pull her back in... until she pulled down hard and brought him into the water with her.

* * *

"How do you think Tristan and Ari are doing?" Misty asked. Our heroes had begun moving up the volcano again, drenched throughly with sweat.

"They're probably playing in the water-" Ash jumped as he barely missed a stream of fire.

"Magmar!" Brock said. "Go, Onyx! Go on you guys, I'll hold them off!"

"Okay," Ash nodded, taking Misty's hand. "Catch up with us!"

"Don't worry, I will!" Brock said.

"Hurry, Misty!" Ash urged. Misty blushed but picked up her speed, catching herself as Ash's speed caused her to trip.

"Ash, slow down!" Misty panted. "At this rate, we'll pass out for a good hour!"

"Look Misty, we're almost at the top!" Ash turned to grin. Misty's heart skipped a beat before she smiled back.

"Race you to it!" she grinned. Ash smirked and let her have a small lead before he began running after her. A shadow passed over him and he and Pikachu stopped to look up.

"Ash, I got it!" Misty said, holding the orb up as she waved to him.

"Misty, look out!" Ash cried, resuming his running.

"What?" Misty looked confused before her bag was caught in talons. She stared at the ground, shocked, as she began getting further and further away from it.

"M-Moltres!" she squeaked.

"Moltres, stop!" Ash shouted. "Come back with her! Misty!"

* * *

"Ari, you brat!" Tristan growled. "Now I'm wet too!" Ari stuck her tongue out at him. She moved to avoid him as he tried to capture her. She paused when she saw Moltres flying away from the volcano and to the snowy mountains. She opened her mouth and then she remembered nothing would come out when Tristan dunked her head under. She rose immediately and pointed to Moltres.

"Is... is that Moltres?" Tristan breathed. "Is that... Misty?" Ari's eyes widened and she pulled Tristan out of the water with her.

_Where are Ash and Brock? _she signed quickly.

"There!" Tristan pointed to the two running down the hill.

"Moltres took Misty!" Ash said. "We have to save her."

"Moltres is headed towards the mountains," Tristan said grimly. "There's a few jackets in the closet. We can use those for warmth when we get up there."

"Ash, we'll find her," Brock said. Ash nodded and looked after Moltres with a frown.

"Don't worry, Misty, we're coming," Ash said.

"Ari, Ash! Help me raise the anchor!" Tristan called.

"When did he get up there?" Ash wondered as Ari shrugged.

* * *

"How are you doing?" Brock asked. "You look better." Ari gave him a small smile before she looked at Tristan and Ash and sighed.

"He likes you, you know," Brock said. "And I'm pretty sure-" Ari put a hand over his mouth and shook her head. She didn't want to hear the rest of the thought.

"Ari, put this on," Tristan said. Ari shied away and shook her head. "Come on, the temperature's already dropping. Put this on or you'll get sick." She tried to struggle out of the jacket but Tristan managed to get her into it.

"So where's Misty going to be?" Brock asked. Ari pointed close to the top of the mountain where there was a small cave barely visible. She walked over to Ash and laid a hand on his shoudler.

_How are you holding up? _she wrote.

"I'm fine," he said.

_Does Misty have the orb._ He nodded._ We'll find her. _Finally he looked at her instead of the white board.

"Thanks Ari," he said.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I only own Tristan.

Merry Christmas or happy whatever holiday you celebrate!

* * *

"It's freezing!" Ash complained.

_It's hot!_ Ari complained, throwing her jacket at Ash.

"Put that back on! You'll catch cold!" Tristan snapped.

_With that thing on I'll faint from heat stroke! _Ari snapped. _Hurry up! At this rate, we'll never make it to the top of the mountain!_

"How did they get up there so fast?" Ash groaned.

"They probably didn't realize how fast they were going," Brock said. "Come on, we need to find Misty."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed. "Pika, pika!" Pikachu pointed at the sky.

"What is Moltres doing?!" Ash shouted. "She'll fall!"

"Ash, don't shout, you might start an avalanche!" Brock hissed. "Ash!"

"Hey, be careful!" Tristan shouted after Ash as the teen went running by him with Pikachu in tow. Ari frowned and ran after them.

"I am not losing her!" Ash said through gritted teeth.

"Ari! Ash!" Tristan groaned. "Come on Brock,"

"Moltres, stop!" Ash shouted.

"Ash, stop shouting, you'll start an avalanche!" Brock snapped. Moltres looked back at them, making eye contact with Ari.

_You fool, what are you doing? _Ari thought. "Look out!" she screamed. Moltres's head snapped to the side and it narrowly avoided a net.

"Ari!" Tristan said, rushing to her side. "What's going on? Why can you talk?" He wiped off a small trail of blood that came out of her mouth.

"So weak…" she muttered. She tried to grab her throat but Tristan held her arms down.

"Hey look, it's the twerps plus two," Meowth said.

"How about we send them a little wake up call?" James grinned.

"Let's do it!" Jessie said, hitting a button that sent a torpedo flying at the heroes.

"Wait- don't do that!" Meowth said.

"That will teach them!" James grinned. "Um, are we moving?"

"It's an avalanche! You started an avalanche!" Meowth hissed.

"Team Rocket's sliding away again!"

"Ari, can you walk?" Tristan asked. "Open your eyes!"

"We need to get out of here," Brock said. "Come on Ash, Misty will be safe with Moltres-"

"Misty!" Ash shouted when a newly fired net caught Moltres. Moltres, in its surprise, dropped her.

"Ash!" Brock shouted when Ash jumped off after her.

"Pika!" Ari pulled away from Tristan and followed Ash.

"No!" Tristan shouted, trying to catch her but he missed. A blizzard whipped up and Tristan was forced to cover his eyes. "Ari!" He sunk to his knees. "She's gone..."

"Ash! Misty!" Brock shouted. "Tristan, look!"

"A-Articuno!" Tristan said. On the Pokemon's back were Ash and Misty.

"Hey!" Brock said. "Are you guys okay?"

"We're fine," Misty smiled. "Although I don't think I'll ever go for another ride on a flying Pokemon again..."

"Where's Ari?" Tristan said.

"Ari? What are you talking about?" Ash asked.

"Ari jumped down after you, Ash," Brock said. "You don't think..." Articuno nuzzled Tristan as Ash and Misty slid off the giant wing span. Tristan put his hands on the Pokemon, giving it attention but not looking at it. Articuno made a noise of protest and pushed Tristan to the ground with its beak.

"Hey!" Tristan said, standing up. "What was that-" he stopped when he saw red eyes... and ice blue feathers. "Ari?" he asked. The legendary bird Pokemon nodded. "How...?"

"Guys, I hate to interrupt the moment, but the avalanche is coming right towards us!" Brock said. Articuno eyed it and opened its beak after shoving everyone behind it.

"That's ice beam!" Brock said as the oncoming snow froze to form a barrier. Articuno lowered itself. "Come on, that barrier won't hold forever," Brock said, helping Ash and Misty onto Articuno's back before getting on himself and extending a hand to Tristan. "Come on Tristan." Tristan took his hand, still in shock from finding out the girl he had a crush on was a legendary Pokemon.

"Moltres!" Misty shouted. "Look, its Cassidy and Bush!"

"It's Butch!" he shouted.

"Give us that Articuno!" Cassidy said.

"Ari- Articuno," Tristan said. "Drop me off here. I'll save Moltres."

"I'll stay too," Ash said.

"No, go back," Brock said. "I'll fight. You and Misty need to get that orb back to the shrine. We'll get the orb here and then make our way back to you. Then Articuno needs to rest." Articuno flew closer to the edge, letting the older males slide off. It protested as Tristan began to walk away.

"I'll come back to you... Ari," he said.


	11. Chapter 11

Me: So sorry I haven't updated in awhile! I had a writer's block for this story!

Disclaimer: You know who I own and who I don't by now.

* * *

"So you were actually Articuno this whole time?" Ash asked. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Ash, don't pry!" Misty protested.

"_No, it's fine. I am sorry. But I can't exactly transform between this form and the human one at will. It takes a great deal of strength. Besides, would you really have believed it without seeing?" _There was an amused tone in their heads as the legendary Pokemon communicated.

"So you can take us straight to the third orb, right?" Misty asked. "What's so important about finding these orbs?"

"_You wouldn't remember, but a few years ago, Ash saved Lugia. Your memories were wiped clean of the event because the legendary Pokemon are supposed to remain legends. Once again, Lugia needs help… as does Ho-Oh. Otherwise, the world will be swallowed by the sea,"_

"Hey, I think I've seen Ho-Oh before," Ash said. "And my memory wasn't erased."

"Ash… Ho-Oh is a legend," Misty frowned.

"_So am I," _Articuno reminded her gently. "_You will be seeing Ho-Oh soon. You can ask what was going through its mind when you see it again." _

"What about Tristan though?" Misty frowned. "You know he-" Articuno lurched dangerously close to a sharp edge in the mountain. Misty and Ash screamed and Misty pressed closer to Ash.

"_I think I'd better conserve my strength. Telepathy also takes quite a bit out of me. Sorry about that,"_

"You don't sound sorry at all…" Misty said sourly. The bird Pokemon seemed to slide as it regained its graceful flight.

"Look- there's the orb!" Ash said. Articuno dipped to the right, getting closer to the ground before landing easily. Ash and Misty slid off the wingspan.

"Do you have the orb, Misty?" Ash asked, pulling the lightening orb out of his pocket.

"Yeah, its here," Misty said, pulling it out of her bag.

"And here's the snow orb…" Ash said, pulling the orb out of its resting spot. "Now where do we go from here? We have to find Slowking, that's what Zapdos said.

"I am right here," Slowking said.

"You're Slowking?" Misty asked, mouth open a little.

"I am," Slowking nodded. "You must go to there… and place the orbs in their correct spots." He pointed to an island in the middle of the three locations the orb had been.

"_I must go," Articuno said. "Moltres is calling for help,"_

"But how are we going to get over there?" Ash asked.

"_Get as far as you can. Zapdos will join you shortly," _Articuno said her decision final as she flapped her powerful wings and took off.

"Slowking, are you comig with us?" Ash asked.

"I will only hinder you, Ash Ketchum,"

"How do you know my name?" Ash asked.

"We have met once before," Slowking said. "Now go." Ash and Misty joined hands before running down the mountain. "I was wondering when they were going to find out they liked each other."

"Look!" Meowth said. "It's the twerps!"

"And… they're holding hands!" James said. "I told you it would be a long time before they got together! Now pay up!"

"Pay up?" Jessie asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't remember any bet," Meowth said.

"What? But we had a bet…" James said.

"We had no such bet!" Jessie said, crossing her fingers behind her back. "Come on, let's go get those legendary Pokemon!"

"Hey!" Meowth said as Team Rocket jumped in front of Ash and Misty.

"Prepare for-"

"We don't have time for this! We have to save the world!" Ash said.

"Oh, look at the new couple!" Jessie grinned. "So eager to be alone! Where are your friends?" Ash and Misty both blushed and dropped each other's hands.

"Staryu!"

"Totadile!"

"Water-"

"Wait, stop!" Jessie said.

"Yeah, we don't want to be blasted off again!" James said.

"Quick, Team Rocket meeting!" Meowth ordered.

"What are they doing?" Misty asked.

"Who knows?" Ash shrugged. "It's Team Rocket. Let's go."

"Wait!" Team Rocket said, grabbing onto them. "We'll help you!"

"You'll…" Misty said. "Help us?"

"Yeah, we don't want the world to end!" James said.

"But aren't you guys supposed to 'unite all evil within our nation'?" Misty asked.

"No, we're supposed to 'protect the world from devestation'!" Jessie said. "Besides, if the world ends, there won't be any evil to unite!"

"We could use the help…" Misty said reluctantly. "After all, they have a hot air balloon…"

"Well why didn't you say so?" Jessie grinned.

"Team Rocket's helping out again!"

"What do you mean 'again'?" Misty and Ash frowned.


End file.
